Industry Schedule

2014 VIFF Industry Conference Schedule

Oct 01

Crowdfunding and marketing campaigns are a key element to funding and releasing independent films. Filmmakers need to know the various options available to them in order to conceive a successful engagement campaign that effectively rewards both the creators and their supporters, and in turn ensures a triumphant release. Learn how to leverage digital technologies to amplify word-of-mouth, reduce marketing costs, spend less, achieve profitability, and build community year-round.

Individual tickets and passes are no longer available for purchase online. Tickets for Industry Conference events will be available for sale at the Rogers Industry Centre (1181 Seymour Street) as of October 1, 12pm.

The new frontier of digital distribution has allowed emerging and established filmmakers to reach their targeted audiences through a variety of platforms. Choosing the right platform is essential to a successful release, finding the right audience, and leveraging existing fan bases. This panel will consider the different distribution models – digital, DIY, and multi-platform, their audience reach, and the exciting potentials and challenges of breaking into the expanding digital market.

Individual tickets and passes are no longer available for purchase online. Tickets for Industry Conference events will be available for sale at the Rogers Industry Centre (1181 Seymour Street) as of October 1, 12pm.

Oct 02

Brand-funded entertainment is rising as a viable source of alternative financing for productions, but you can only guarantee quality if you're able to marry a brand ethos with original, immersive and meaningful content. This session will help producers explore the complexities of branded entertainment, across both traditional and digital platforms, by deconstructing outstanding case studies from Jimmy Lee, the production arm of international agency Sid Lee. Case studies will touch on Takedown: The DNA of GSP, a feature documentary on the life of UFC champion George St-Pierre, to the world's first web and mobile channel LIB TV, and award-winning interactive web series collaborations with leading consumer brands such as Facebook, Adidas and Sport Chek.

Individual tickets and passes are no longer available for purchase online. Tickets for Industry Conference events will be available for sale at the Rogers Industry Centre (1181 Seymour Street) as of October 1, 12pm.

Digital entertainment is growing at a rapid speed and a new generation of online commissioners has emerged to create original programming. These new players are investing big dollars into the development and acquisition of material in order to engage new audiences. Aaron Simpson (VP of Animation & Business Development, Mondo Media), Jesse Albert (Producer, Xpansive Media), Prem Gil (Director, Original Production & Programming, TELUS), and Lewis Ball (EVP Professional Services, BroadbandTV) will speak about their programming strategies, future initiatives, and production plans. The session will focus on how these new players are strengthening relationships with the online community and how the platform drives the content.

Individual tickets and passes are no longer available for purchase online. Tickets for Industry Conference events will be available for sale at the Rogers Industry Centre (1181 Seymour Street) as of October 1, 12pm.

Designed for emerging and transitioning filmmakers, these sessions are the perfect opportunity to have one-on-one meetings with local senior production executives and broadcasters; pitch projects; receive feedback; and forge new relationships! Limited capacity, first-come, first-served basis, pre-registration required. Limit is two meetings per speed dater and you must have purchased an additional item to the conference to be eligible for registration.

Individual tickets and passes are no longer available for purchase online. Tickets for Industry Conference events will be available for sale at the Rogers Industry Centre (1181 Seymour Street) as of October 1, 12pm.

Join Oscar-nominated Craig Borten, screenwriter, DALLAS BUYERS CLUB and Kelly Masterson, screenwriter of the award-winning and critically acclaimed SNOWPIERCER as they discuss the process of creating scripts that have universal appeal but are also genuinely original. The panel will focus on the challenges of bringing a narrative to life; the elements to building a striking protagonist; how source material is used; and the process of collaborating with the director.

Individual tickets and passes are no longer available for purchase online. Tickets for Industry Conference events will be available for sale at the Rogers Industry Centre (1181 Seymour Street) as of October 1, 12pm.

Since 1994, when Hussain Amarshi founded the company, Mongrel Media has carved out an ever more important niche as a distributor of speciality, art-house and independent film. Mixing business acumen with great taste and conviction, Mongrel has grown to become a vital and vigorous player in a challenging period for the distribution sector. Like VIFF, Mongrel has looked harder and further than most in the film industry, to find the kind of cinematic gems that could otherwise get passed over in the mainstream.

VIFF is also pleased to present a ten-film tribute celebrating the diversity and quality of Mongrel’s collection over four consecutive Sundays running up to the festival (with a couple of musical treats screening in our parallel Music Mondayssidebar). These movies run the gamut from Canadian documentary (the Vancouver-made The Corporation) to Pedro Almodovar’s Academy Award-winning (and very strange) romance Talk to Her, thrillers like A Prophet and The Lives of Others (both screening on 35mm incidentally), and films from Asia, South America, and the Middle East. Not surprisingly they include many audience prize-winners from festivals past, including both the first title in the series, A Separation (Aug 31), and the last, Like Father, Like Son (Sept 21).

On October 2, we are pleased to host and honour Hussain Amarshi, President and Founder of Mongrel Media in a special “In Conversation With” during VIFF’s Industry Conference. The conversation will be hosted by Marsha Lederman, Western Arts Correspondent for The Globe and Mail. Congratulations on your 20th Anniversary, Mongrel Media, and many happy returns!

So you want to be a video game writer? How do game scriptwriters fuse an engaging narrative and alluring characters into the interactive nature of the medium? Corey May, the lead writer of Assassin’s CreedI, II, and III and Director of Scriptwriters at Ubisoft Montreal will discuss the challenges of writing for video games in an ever-morphing industry; the dual-nature of video game narratives; and how to attract a game developer’s attention. A Q&A session will follow.

Individual tickets and passes are no longer available for purchase online. Tickets for Industry Conference events will be available for sale at the Rogers Industry Centre (1181 Seymour Street) as of October 1, 12pm.

Individual tickets and passes are no longer available for purchase online. Tickets for Industry Conference events will be available for sale at the Rogers Industry Centre (1181 Seymour Street) as of October 1, 12pm.

Let’s talk about how network and cable executives approach trends in programming. John Morayniss, CEO, Entertainment One Television, Steve Foster, Director, Development, HBO Films, and Nicole Clemens, Senior VP and Head of Series Development, FX Networks, discuss their criteria for program acquisition; what sets a good pitch and an original idea apart from the others; how to find originality amongst thousands of pitches; determining which shows get a pilot pick-up; the ones that got away and the role that social media plays in developing and engaging audiences.

Individual tickets and passes are no longer available for purchase online. Tickets for Industry Conference events will be available for sale at the Rogers Industry Centre (1181 Seymour Street) as of October 1, 12pm.

What creates truly great drama? How do shows retain and grow audience interest? In this revealing discussion, Chris Collins, Executive Producer and head writer of Sons of Anarchy, and Jack Amiel, co-creator of The Knick, share their experiences from within the writers’ rooms of the most cutting-edge and critically acclaimed television shows. They’ll take a look at the necessary elements needed to deliver dark, gritty and realistic storylines, addictive characters, and how to create immersive episodes that keep the audience glued to the screen even in moments of brutal violence.

Individual tickets and passes are no longer available for purchase online. Tickets for Industry Conference events will be available for sale at the Rogers Industry Centre (1181 Seymour Street) as of October 1, 12pm.

Designed for emerging and transitioning filmmakers, these sessions are the perfect opportunity to have one-on-one meetings with local senior production executives and broadcasters; pitch projects; receive feedback; and forge new relationships! Limited capacity, first-come, first-served basis, pre-registration required. Limit is two meetings per speed dater and you must have purchased an additional item to the conference to be eligible for registration.

Individual tickets and passes are no longer available for purchase online. Tickets for Industry Conference events will be available for sale at the Rogers Industry Centre (1181 Seymour Street) as of October 1, 12pm.

One of the lures of creating a web series is that there are no limitations; you can do whatever you want, free from the confines of formulaic broadcast or specialty television. But in the end, are web series only a flashy calling card? How does one break into the digital space and make a profit when raising money and making money are two entirely different things? Learn how creators Bernie Su, David Milchard, and Michelle Ouellet took advantage of the freedom in this platform. They will discuss the business of their web series: the various funding models, how they closed their financing, built audience, crowd-funded, worked with unions, vendors, agents, talent/stars, production companies, financiers, distributors and MCN’s so they could create and distribute their alternative content and rise above the million-hit homemade cat videos.

Individual tickets and passes are no longer available for purchase online. Tickets for Industry Conference events will be available for sale at the Rogers Industry Centre (1181 Seymour Street) as of October 1, 12pm.

The second screen revolution is going strong. Successful television shows are using interactive technology to create entertaining experiences for their audience long after the credits roll. The second screen has become an essential element to the media experience and the socially savvy viewer. Join James Milward, founder of Secret Location, the Emmy award-winning Canadian digital agency, for thoughtful and successful case studies of interactive initiatives for shows such as Portlandia, Continuum, and Sleepy Hollow.

Individual tickets and passes are no longer available for purchase online. Tickets for Industry Conference events will be available for sale at the Rogers Industry Centre (1181 Seymour Street) as of October 1, 12pm.

Please note that Adam Reed (Archer) and Jack Amiel (The Knick) will be available at alternative times. Contact the VIFF Industry office for more information.

Individual tickets and passes are no longer available for purchase online. Tickets for Industry Conference events will be available for sale at the Rogers Industry Centre (1181 Seymour Street) as of October 1, 12pm.

Everyone loves a laugh and our featured comedy session ALL KINDS OF FUNNY will certainly have delegates rolling in the aisles. We’re very pleased to feature Adam Reed, creator of ARCHER as he presents a sneak peek of an episode from the upcoming and much-anticipated Season 6 (scheduled to air in 2015). With the upcoming "unreboot" of the show, fans will get to experience first-hand Reed's personal highlights and behind-the-scenes insights from this critically acclaimed animated series.

Individual tickets and passes are no longer available for purchase online. Tickets for Industry Conference events will be available for sale at the Rogers Industry Centre (1181 Seymour Street) as of October 1, 12pm.

Oct 04

Ondi Timoner (Dig!, We Live In Public, Join Us), creator of A TOTAL DISRUPTION, an online network documenting today’s top disruptive content creators, presents 3 short films that have emerged from a series on A TOTAL DISRUPTION called Chief Executive Artist: AMANDA F***ING PALMER ON THE ROCKS (about musician Amanda Palmer), OBEY THE ARTIST (featuring renowned graphic artist Shepard Fairey), and RUSSELL BRANDS THE BIRD (focusing on Brand’s trip to Twitter HQ). Following the screenings, Ondi will discuss how artists and innovators use technology to redefine the rules of engagement - transforming their ability to create, monetize, and distribute their work.

Individual tickets and passes are no longer available for purchase online. Tickets for Industry Conference events will be available for sale at the Rogers Industry Centre (1181 Seymour Street) as of October 1, 12pm.

Indie filmmaking embraces low budget production, improvisation, and the director’s vision as a norm, but what happens when the filmmaker finally breaks into the studio system? Indie darling, Jay Duplass, discusses the transition from the indie setting to studio – how the filmmaking process is affected and the potential challenges of working with bigger budgets, bigger names, new audiences and studio execs without losing the indie creative edge.

Individual tickets and passes are no longer available for purchase online. Tickets for Industry Conference events will be available for sale at the Rogers Industry Centre (1181 Seymour Street) as of October 1, 12pm.

The only proven path to true independence as an artist is a direct connection to your audience. Crowd-funding is becoming a fundamental piece of most financing plans for independent film. However, many filmmakers miss the opportunity to turn their film funding campaigns into audience-building opportunities that can last an entire career. Seed&Spark is investing in the future of independence for independent film by offering a comprehensive Crowdfunding to Build Independence seminar. This class for film-related projects will provide the crowdfunding action plan most likely to create a lasting, flourishing, direct relationship with audiences.

Individual tickets and passes are no longer available for purchase online. Tickets for Industry Conference events will be available for sale at the Rogers Industry Centre (1181 Seymour Street) as of October 1, 12pm.

Action films throttle the hero against incredible physical feats. Dramas center on realistic, in-depth development of a character. The science fiction picture examines the effect of imagined scientific/technological innovations in a futuristic world. Today, film genres have expanded into sub-genres and hybrid genres, melding elements in new, compelling, and sometimes strange ways. This writer’s panel will feature Nicole Perlman, screenwriter of Guardians of the Galaxy, Simon Davis Barry, creator of Continuum, Dennis Heaton, executive producer of Motive, and Hart Hanson, creator and show-runner of Bones, and the upcoming Backstrom, as they focus on the process; how to successfully straddle genres; how to understand audience expectations and how to shake them up to create in-demand and celebrated fiction.

Individual tickets and passes are no longer available for purchase online. Tickets for Industry Conference events will be available for sale at the Rogers Industry Centre (1181 Seymour Street) as of October 1, 12pm.

Television production is booming and some of the most provocative and critically-acclaimed stories are happening on TV. Filmmakers are being lured to the small screen with the promise of more creative control and the ability to bring more cinema into TV. This panel session will feature directors Scott Smith, Call Me Fitz, Lynne Stopkewich, Suspicious River, and Jason Bourque, Black Fly, discussing the essentials of TV directing, including how to approach episodic content, creative dynamics, and what every TV director should have in their toolkit.

Individual tickets and passes are no longer available for purchase online. Tickets for Industry Conference events will be available for sale at the Rogers Industry Centre (1181 Seymour Street) as of October 1, 12pm.